The Journey of two Queens: Discoveries
by petitefeeme
Summary: Sarah has triumphed and successfully retrieved her brother Toby from the evil Goblin King clutches. But that's not the end. Far from it. I am sorry to say this story is discontinued due to flamers. I won't stand for it. My deepest apologies.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

**At the beginning the idea for this fanfic was a song from Edward Maya called 'Love Story' (it's a beautiful one). **

**Now the concept of the present story is far from the one I had at the beginning, but I still had a great time writing it.**

**The film 'Labyrinth' leaves a gigantic place for imagination, and I had a blast filling all the blanks, researching and creating.**

**Unfortunately, the original characters, songs, and creatures you will encounter aren't mine. And I can assure you every creature you will read about have all a base, just search on the internet.**

**I also used some Gaelic words (or Irish, it wasn't very clear when I asked a English/Gaelic dictionary). Pronounce the words you will read as you like, as I am not sure how to exactly pronounce them.**

**And without further delay, ladies and gentlemen, read and enjoy this first chapter.**

Sarah walked out of the high school ground.

It had been a long, tiring day, and all the dark haired girl wished was changing into more comfortable clothes and go to the park with Merlin.

She also wanted, later than night, call on some of her friends from underground. Her father and Karen were leaving again for god nowhere, and even if Hoggle would never admit it out loud, he loved watching the television.

She was almost to her house when she heard vicious, mean laughter coming from a place hidden from general view, behind a garage.

Out of curiosity, she tiptoed near the source of the noises and peaked around the corner.

She saw Fiona, the local bully with her equally bully of a boyfriend, Frank. They had a slip of a girl around the corner.

This happened frequently, and even as Sarah's heart went to the bullied girl before her, there was little she could do.

She was about to leave discreetly when the girl said something that made her freeze.

"I would love to wish you away to the Goblin kingdom, but that would be a poisoned gift." Said softly but firmly the girl, no trace of fear in her voice.

"Ooh!" exclaimed sarcastically Fiona "I'm sooo scared!"

"You think that taking refuge in an imaginary thing will save you?" sneered Frank

"No." replied evenly the girl "But this thing isn't imaginary at all. It exists if you truly believe in it."

The two bullies snickered and were about to move onto her when some adult passed them.

Fiona and Frank took on 'innocent' poses and the adults passed on them without noticing anything.

When they had passed, the bullies turned back on their victim to see that she a silently slid away, as stealthily as a cat.

Sarah had also tip toed back, resuming her way to her house.

"Welcome back." Greeted Karen when the young girl entered the house.

"Hi." Replied Karen, smiling quickly at Karen before kissing Toby who was happily fingering his half eaten biscuit on his little high chair "I'll go do my homeworks."

"Do you want something to eat?" asked Karen.

"No thank you." Replied Sarah before heading upstairs.

Her homeworks quickly done, she changed into a pair of faded jeans and a simple light blue long sleeved top.

She almost ran downstairs and grabbed her jacket, telling Karen she wouldn't be long before getting out of the house.

"Merlin!" she called and soon enough, her faithful dog was running beside her.

They rushed through the path leading to her favourite park, Merlin barking happily beside her, tongue hanging down.

They soon reached the gentle grassy hills, a few trees patching the green landscape.

They passed over a stone bridge, bringing back memories that she pushed ruthlessly to the back of her mind.

She began playing with Merlin, thinking of plays she could rehearse.

A play came to mind and the verses she wanted to declaim came easily. She took position, taking a few moments to enter her character.

"Friendship is constant in all other things  
Save in the office and affairs of love:  
Therefore, all hearts in love use their own tongues;  
Let every eye negotiate for itself  
And trust no agent." She said, her voice strong and her head held proudly as she looked at Merlin straight in the face, putting the right intonation here and there.

She searched in her mind for the next verses, a frown marring her face.

"For beauty is a witch  
Against whose charms faith melteth into blood.  
This is an accident of hourly proof,  
Which I mistrusted not. Farewell, therefore, Hero! » finished for her a little voice, reminded her of wind chimes and the gentle running of a pure source stream.

She turned to see the girl from earlier. She was smiling shyly, her eyes glued to the ground and a light timid blush grazing her cheekbones.

"You know Much Ado About Nothing?" asked Sarah, pleasantly surprised.

"Yes." Answered the girl, her voice barely above a whisper "From Shakespeare. It isn't because I favour sciences that I can't cultivate my literal part."

There was silence as seconds passed before the girl added:

"I must appear a bit mean, but why did you stay to watch me getting bullied?"

At that Sarah blushed, ashamed and embarrassed by her earlier behaviour.

"I'm sorry." She began to apologize "But what could I have done?"

"No need to apologize for that." Reassured gently the girl "I understand that alone you couldn't have done anything apart from being bullied too and I would never forgive myself if I put you in trouble. My question was why did you stay?"

Sarah blinked, amazed at the girl's understanding and forgiving ways bordering on naivety before answering:

"What made me stay is something that you said earlier."

She didn't dare to say something else, not wanting to pass for anymore crazier as she was seen in school, but the girl only blinked and cutely dipped her head to the side curiously, looking much like a puppy.

"You said something about the goblins." Added finally tentatively Sarah, looking down and waiting for the girl to treat her like anybody else, insulting her and telling her she was weird and creepy.

"Ah yes!" exclaimed the girl after a silence, as if she had tried really hard to remember "The Goblin Kingdom. Do you know of it?"

"Ah, err…" mumbled clumsily Sarah "Yes? I mean, yes I read the book."

"The book?" asked curiously the girl, once again cocking her head to the side.

Sarah blushed at her own foolish behaviour before fumbling in her bag, retrieving the little red book she always carried with her, giving it to her.

A strange sparkle lighted the eyes of the girl when she saw the little handbook , taking it gently between her hand as if it was made of crystal, her finger brushing up almost lovingly the cover.

"Ah yes." She said in a whisper "This little book. I remember. So much memories."

Sarah didn't have time to question her as she returned the book.

"I hope you enjoyed it." She smiled, her face transformed. After seeing the book it began to glow, illuminated by the most beautiful smile Sarah ever saw.

It was contagious and she smiled back, suddenly and strangely at ease.

They began conversing. Lightly at first, then laughters and funny theories about Fiona and Frank were exchanged.

After that, Sarah and the girl rehearsed a few more plays, taking great delight in changing their voice and attitudes wherever they took in a new character.

They also ran with a happy Merlin, throwing him sticks and balls, much to the delight of the canine.

When they separated at 5 o'clock, it was as if they had been friends for the longest time, and nobody could have told that they met barely a few hours ago.

"Oh!" exclaimed Sarah, remembering suddenly something important "What's your name?"

"Lilliana." Smiled the girl "But you can call me Lilly, it's shorter."

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

In the underground, deep and far from the above ground, the earth shuddered. Every rulers of their own kingdom felt it, but no one was able to explain.

No one except for an old woman, somewhere in the underground.

She stopped writing and looked up, a smile illuminating her face, and laughed outrightly, happy.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

As weeks passed, the school year passing slowly, the friendship between Sarah and Lilliana deepened to a point it sometimes frightened Sarah.

She learned exactly over time who was exactly Lilliana Handsrow.

Physically, she could be her sister. They both had dark brown hairs, vibrant green eyes, fair skin and a delicately oval shaped face. They were also quite tall and thin, thought developing early womanly forms. People often confounded them, much to their amusement. The only differences were that Lilliana's hairs were longer and curled gracefully around her shoulder. She was also a bit taller than Sarah and her eyes held some gold in them.

But apart from that they were a world apart, yet so complementary of each other. Sarah was outspoken, a leader, fire in her eyes and a confident posture in every situation.

Lilliana however, was so soft-spoken she rarely went over her whispery talking voice, she was shy and introverted, letting people walk on her blatantly. But she had another kind of beauty that still mesmerized Sarah.

When the situation was desperate, like when she was cornered by the bullies, as Sarah would fight fruitlessly or throw an angry fit, Lilliana would stay level headed and reply proudly while her mind searched a way out.

She also seemed to completely transform when defending a loved one or fighting against injustice. She would turn fierce, strong and dangerous, sometimes the fire in her eyes brighter than Sarah's.

And while her face was turned downward most of the time, when she looked up and smiled a real smile, Sarah could swear it was often outshining the sun, radiant and beautiful.

Fortunately with Sarah she would loosen up, the sparkle that lighted so beautifully her eyes staying until they had to confront the outside world again.

The two girls had both different classes. Sarah studied theatre, literature, history and languages; Lilliana was studying chemistry, biology, maths, and was in the choir. Of course Lilliana got Sarah interested a bit in biology and chemistry, and Sarah introduced Lilliana to the world of books and plays, but that was it.

Fortunately the two found common ground with studying ancient cultures and customs, particularly Gaelic and Celtic history and way of living. Sarah knew she was interested because of the Underground, but was never able to decipher why Lilliana took also great interest in it.

They were also both extremely imaginative, passing hours in the park with Merlin, inventing their story that they would play out in costumes, sometimes giggling like little girls when they danced with a prince of accepted a rose given by an enamoured king.

Their similarities where also in their family. Sarah's mother was gone, her father always working and even though Karen and Sarah had finally reached a sort of neutral ground, the girl knew she would never be accomplice enough with the woman. She felt a bit alone, always taking care of everything concerning herself, from school papers so that her parents only had to sign it, to sometimes cook, clean, babysit and grocery shopping when Karen was busy working too. Sometimes she really thought her only close family was Merlin and Toby.

Lilliana wasn't better off. Her father was gone, her mother always working late at night, and she had to take care of school papers as well as her four years younger little brother, cooking, cleaning and doing other chores.

And her brother was a little monster. Of that she was sure as she went only once at her house and wished to never return again. The evil thing had passed his time hitting them, insulting them, running away when Lilliana tried to make herself heard and ordered. He refused to listen to her, even when what she asked him was obviously essential like when she asked him to wash up after he played in the mud. Sarah could clearly see where her inferiority complex had come from.

Despite of that she was amazed that the girl still held a sort of honour bound sisterly love toward him, feeling even guilty that she couldn't do much to help him have a good life.

They also both loved children, Lilliana adoring helping her watch Toby while her parents where away. Between the two girls, Toby was cherished and happy. Lilliana confided in Sarah one day that Toby was the little sibling she had always wished for, though immediately after she would feel guilty.

They were currently sitting on a table outside the school building, heads huddled toward each other, their minds working restlessly to form a new play they could rehearse. The few they had invented were really good and had even pleased the theatre club Sarah was in enough to choose them for events.

"We're getting nowhere." Sighed Sarah, dropping her pen on the rough wooden table.

"We aren't enough documented." Offered Lilliana "Half of the creatures we describe in there are incomplete. Perhaps we'll go to the library to read more?"

"Good idea." Nodded tiredly Sarah "But what we need is more experience. Neither of us had fallen in love, or even had a crush in her life. How can we write about love when we never experienced it?"

"Love." Whispered Lilliana, getting that faraway look that Sarah was now accustomed to. But she this time paid her no mind, her mind showing her an image of mismatched eyes and wisps of blond hairs.

She shocked almost violently her head to clear the images, not wanting to dwell on them before changing subject.

"My parents are away tonight and this afternoon." She asked "I have to look after Toby. Do you want to come?"

"Of course." Smiled happily her friend "I'll bring all the books I can and the popcorn."

"I'll take care of the other half of the books and the dvds." Smiled back Sarah.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

The old woman entered the room, perturbing the two men quietly conversing inside.

They barely turned to her, their eyes and posture showing great annoyance. In dark corners, little creatures whispered worriedly, stepping farther in the protection the darkness offered.

"I will warn you one last time young men." Said the woman seriously "Snap out of it!"

As if they didn't hear her, they stumbled back on their cushioned seat, one juggling with a round crystal, the other burying himself in a book.

The old woman sighed and shaked her head, giving up.

"I really hope later you will realise your foolishness." She sighed before a light smirk played on her lips "And then perhaps I will have a good laugh."

**I hope you liked it! Don't hesitate to leave a review to tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

**Just a bit of author's note before I let you to read this chapter.**

**First, I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story. It always helps me continue to write.**

**Second, the descriptions of creatures you will find in this chapter and others later aren't mine. I may have altered them a bit to fit the story, but originally the come from regional folklores from various different countries.**

**Third, a lot of reviewers told me my grammar was bad (if not awful). I deeply apologize to anyone I might have shocked with my errors (to my defence English isn't my mother language). And I beg you, if you find errors, in this chapter or future one, please warn me(especially if it's errors I keep repeating).**

**Now, I'll let you go on. So read and enjoy!**

"And here I thought you'd bring a little mountain of book!" Sarah laughed.

Lilliana pouted playfully but smiled a second after, a little laugh passing her lips.

"I actually envisaged it. But then I found this book."

She gestured to a huge volume sitting on the table, the book almost covering a third of the table.

"It sure is ancient, and a bit strange." Sarah noticed. Her fingers grazed the strange leather, sort of silky cover where strange people and symbols were intertwined.

She heard snickers and glared discreetly at a corner of the room, praying that Lilliana hadn't heard.

But she seemed unaware, busy preparing Toby for a stroll in the park.

"We can read it tonight." She offered "For now, how about bringing this little man to the swings? He loves them."

Sarah smiled before rushing upstairs to take a few essential things for the toddler.

Half an hour later the three were at a remote swing, surrounded by trees and soft green grass.

There was silence for a while, only disturbed by the delighted squeals of Toby who was balancing on the baby swing.

Sarah observed her friend, almost sure she was up to something. But it wasn't until the girl trusted a sparkly wrapped bundle into her hands that she understood.

"You…" she said, trying to find the right words "You remembered."

"Of course." Lilliana smiled happily "Happy birthday Sarah."

The girl smiled gratefully before delicately unwrapping her present. Her eyes widened as she held arm length a beautiful linen medieval dress.

Actually it made her think more of the ones women dressed in far up in the north and the ones put on by the court ladies in southern countries. There was an undershirt looking like a poet's shirt, made of soft cotton the colour of passed white. The collar was wide and round, almost uncovering her shoulders, and the sleeves were puffed up to re-tie around her wrist.

The outer robe was of a light pastel yellow that reminded Sarah of pale gold jewelleries she saw once. The collar was also round but hugged more Sarah's neck, with golden embroideries stitched on the borders. It was coming to an abrupt stop just under the neck to form a plunging V, the corners kept together by little criss-crossed strings.

The sleeves were large and short, stopping before her elbows, letting the undershirt's sleeve show.

The robes hugged the upper body loosely before widening at belt level, the material becoming flowing and stopping just before the feet.

Sarah's smile became grateful and tender and she hugged tightly her friend.

"Thank you." She beamed "It's beautiful!"

"Well." The girl admonished jokingly "Try it on. I want to see how much it fits you."

Smiling, Sarah hid into the bushes to take of her tee shirt, putting on the poet shirt before slipping the dress on.

When she stepped out Lilliana circled her, adjusting things here and there before stepping back, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Gold suits you well you know. You're beautiful. Let me do your hairs."

Sarah nodded and sat on the grass, Lilliana behind her. While keeping a look on Toby, the girl braided her hairs in a crown, adding a little flower occasionally. She let the rest of them hanging down in waves on her shoulder and let out a 'finish' when she was satisfied with the result.

"Now you really look like a princess." She smiled as Sarah got up to do a twirl "Strong and elegant."

They were interrupted from their conversation when the world around them became dark.

They frowned before looking up and seeing the sun hidden behind a black disk.

"A solar eclipse?" Lilliana asked, dumbfounded "Did you heard of anything like that happening today Sarah?"

Her friend frowned before shaking her head negatively. They looked around to see if anyone had noticed this strange happening to see that the park was entirely deserted.

A bad feeling settling at the bottom of her stomach, Sarah proposed:

"How about we get back to my house?"

"Good idea." Lilliana mumbled, gathering their things quickly.

Helping her, the two soon were retreating back to Sarah's house, Toby tucked safely in his sister's arm.

They only made it to the stone bridge when they were stopped. Someone was on the other side.

And not someone, or even something remotely normal. Mounted on a horse blacker than the night, a large black cloak and hood was covering its body and head. But a strange translucent whitish yellow light was coming directly from under the hood.

Sarah's stomach twisted in fright, her grip on Toby's tightening instinctively.

She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Lilliana, her eyes narrowed and her posture tense.

"I suggest we run." She said in barely a whisper. Sarah nodded and they whirled around before running away.

The thud of hooves on the stone informed her that the stranger was pursuing them. They also felt droplet of water crashing on their cheeks, indicating it was beginning to rain.

Sarah covered her whimpering brother with her arm to offer him a measly protection from the water drops and continued to run.

She barely heard Lilliana's voice before the girl pushed her to the side, landing beside her on the now muddy ground. She twisted to protect a now crying Toby from the fall and Lilliana helped her straighten.

She saw that the thing had overtaken them, swept away by its horse's gallop.

By the time it turned around, his horse slowing down so it could properly whirl around, the two girls had made a mad dash for the trees.

They weaved their ways into the woods, this time the gallop of the horse a little farther away from them as the rider couldn't let his ride go full speed.

Sarah was getting desperate, beginning to think that perhaps if she hide Toby somewhere and continued to run there was a chance that it could bypass him, when she felt Lilliana push her aside.

She looked at her, and her friend silently ordered her to continue running.

Trusting the girl, Sarah complied and soon Lilliana stopped her in front of a huge oak tree.

"This way." She said in hushed whispers, taking Sarah's hand to circle the tree's trunk.

When they made half the tour Sarah noticed an opening between the roots.

"Crawl in there." Said quickly Lilliana, taking Toby from her "As far as you can. I'll pass you Toby."

Sarah nodded before crawling inside as far and fast as she could. When she felt the space becoming too restricted to move, she settled a bit more comfortably to reception Toby. Lilliana, after passing her the by now too much frightened toddler to even utter a word, crawled after her.

They settled as far from the entrance as they, forming a muddy mass at the end of the little roots corridor.

Seconds ticked by, accompanied by the loud thuds of Sarah's heart. She looked at Lilliana at the corner of her eyes, not daring to move her head.

Her friend had closed her eyes, a hand fisted tightly against her chest and another placed on the tree trunk. Her lips were tightly glued together, and tears were silently streaming down her cheeks.

A dark shadow obscured the entrance hole and Sarah closed her eyes, hugging Toby closer, burying her head in the soaked and slightly dirty baby clothes, hoping that the toddler kept his mouth shut. She closed her eyes like Lilliana and prayed silently.

After what felt like an eternity they finally heard the clip clop of a horse's hooves walking away from the tree.

They didn't dare to move for another eternity. When Lilliana finally crawled outside softly, the rain had stopped long ago, and the moon was shining high in the sky.

The girl looked around and nodded silently to herself. She took Toby in her arms to let Sarah crawl out and together they made their way back to Sarah's house, dead tired physically and mentally.

They both sighed in relief when they made their way back inside the warm cosy entrance, finally relaixing.

They looked at each other before a bubbling, nervous laugh made its way to their lips, irresistible.

But before they could blow out fully they were interrupted by Toby who let out a high pitched cry.

Sarah and Lilliana began laughing hysterically, crying at the same time.

"Okay, okay." Said Sarah, whipping her tears away and straightening "I'm going to change Toby."

"I'll prepare his meal." Added Lilliana "And ours."

Sarah nodded and disappeared upstairs with the now screaming baby. Lilliana busied herself in the kitchen, preparing Toby's bottle and some light snacks for her and Sarah.

Said girl walked down an hour later with a calmed but still slightly cranky toddler, both freshened and dry in their pyjamas. Lilliana nodded to her before getting upstairs too to get changed and wash a bit.

"I'm sorry." She said when she walked down again in her own nightgown "Your presents is totally ruined."

"The most important thing is that we all got back alive and well." Sarah replied, taking a deep breath before asking "Did…did you know what tried to attack us?"

"I haven't the slightest clue." Replied sombrely her friend, making Sarah somewhat shudder.

After putting Toby in his bed and put on the baby phone, the girls climbed downstairs and put on the television, choosing a film and lowering the volume to the minimum before bringing the heavy volume Lilliana found in the library earlier that day.

They put it on both their laps to steady it and flipped through the pages, searching for a specific name.

"It's amazing." Whispered Sarah after a few pages.

All mythical creature known and unknown were ordered in an alphabetical list, with exhaustive descriptions and origins of said creatures, also offering ways to ward them off, or tame them. In one word almost anything.

Lilliana nodded, agreeing, before her eyes widened in fright.

"Sarah." She said unsurely, her voice wavering a bit as she pointed the top of a page.

On the borders were image of a dark individual mounted a black horse, completely covered in a black cloak. On another the figure was headless, said head hanging by his hairs, strangely deformed and glowing, mouth open as if to scream.

The two girls shuddered and began to read:

_THE DULLAHAN (Variants: dullaghan, far dorocha, Crom Dubh) _

_The dullahan is one of the most spectacular creatures in the Irish fairy realm and one which is particularly active._

_Around midnight on certain Irish festivals or feast days, this wild and black-robed horseman may be observed riding a dark and snorting steed across the countryside. _

_W. J. Fitzpatrick, a storyteller from the Mourne Mountains in County Down, recounts: _

_"I seen the dullahan myself, stopping on the brow of the hill between Bryansford and Moneyscalp late one evening, just as the sun was setting. It was completely headless but it held up its own head in its hand and I heard it call out a name. I put my hand across my ears in case the name was my own, so I couldn't hear what it said. When I looked again, it was gone. But shortly afterwards, there was a bad car accident on that very hill and a young man was killed. It had been his name that the dullahan was calling". _

_Dullahans are headless. Although the dullahan has no head upon its shoulders, he carries it with him, either on the saddle-brow of his horse or upraised in his right hand. The head is the colour and texture of stale dough or mouldy cheese, and quite smooth. A hideous, idiotic grin splits the face from ear to ear, and the eyes, which are small and black, dart about like malignant flies. The entire head glows with the phosphorescence of decaying matter and the creature may use it as a lantern to guide its way along the darkened laneways of the Irish countryside. Wherever the dullahan stops, a mortal dies. _

_The dullahan is possessed of supernatural sight. By holding his severed head aloft, he can see for vast distances across the countryside, even on the darkest night. Using this power, he can spy the house of a dying person, no matter where it lies. _

_The dullahan is usually mounted on a black steed, which thunders through the night. He uses a human spine as a whip. The horse sends out sparks and flames from its nostrils as it charges forth. All gates fly open to let rider through, no matter how firmly they are locked, so no one is truly safe from the attentions of this fairy._

_This fairy has a limited power of speech. Its disembodied head is permitted to speak just once on each journey it undertakes, and then has only the ability to call the name of the person whose death it heralds. A dullahan will stop its snorting horse before the door of a house and shout the name of the person about to die, drawing forth the soul at the call. He may also stop at the very spot where a person will die. _

_The origins of the dullahan are not known for certain, but he is thought to be the embodiment of an ancient Celtic god, Crom Dubh, or Black Crom. Crom Dubh was worshipped by the prehistoric king, Tighermas, who ruled in Ireland about fifteen hundred years ago and who legitimised human sacrifice to heathen idols. Being a fertility god, Crom Dubh demanded human lives each year, the most favoured method of sacrifice being decapitation. The worship of Crom continued in Ireland until the sixth century, when Christian missionaries arrived from Scotland. They denounced all such worship and under their influence, the old sacrificial religions of Ireland began to lose favour. Nonetheless, Crom Dubh was not to be denied his annual quota of souls, and took on a physical form which became known as the dullahan or far dorocha (meaning dark man), the tangible embodiment of death. _

_Unlike the banshee, the dullahan does not pursue specific families and its call is a summoning of the soul of a dying person rather than a death warning. There is no real defence against the dullahan because he is death's herald. However, an artefact made of gold may frighten him away, for dullahan's appear to have an irrational fear of this precious metal. Even a small amount of gold may suffice to drive them off, as the following account from County Galway relates: _

_"A man was on his way home one night between Roundstone and Ballyconneely. It was just getting dark and, all of a sudden, he heard the sound of horse's hooves pounding along the road behind him. Looking around, he saw the dullahan on his charger, hurtling towards him at a fair speed. With a loud shout, he made to run but the thing came on after him, gaining on him all the time. In truth, it would have overtaken him and carried him away had he not dropped a gold-headed pin from the folds of his shirt on the road behind him. There was a roar in the air above him and, when he looked again, the dullahan was gone"._

_The dullahan may also loose the person he's searching for when it rains. As his horse is a creature of fire, it's less effective surrounded by water and to manage his ride the dullahan will turn away to try next night._

Sarah and Lilliana looked at each other, their faces pale against the television's screen light.

"Do you think it'll come back?" asked Lilliana in a whisper.

Sarah really wished she could say no, that everything they had endured was a bad dream. But if the Labyrinth taught her anything at all, it was that you can't run forever.

So she nodded.

Lilliana took a sharp intake of breath to desperately calm down, feeling overwhelmed before adding:

"What will we do? I have nothing made of gold and we can't hope it rains every night."

"I don't know Lilly." Said Sarah "I really don't know."

**I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! And warn me if I did any big errors.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

**I want to thank all the readers who reviewed, especially the ones who warned me of errors. **

**Read and I hope you'll enjoy this third chapter. Don't hesitate to leave a review to tell me what you think of this story!**

The week passed without any incident. The girls decided to never venture at nightfall again and acquired gold after much fight and whining with their respective parent. They chose the cheapest (which was still very expensive) and brought simple gold rings.

As Karen has insisted upon Toby's baptism to buy him a gold chain with a T shaped pendant, nothing was to fear on that side.

After the week passed the girls began to relax, thinking that perhaps it was just a coincidence and that something like that would never happen again.

Oh how wrong they were.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"How do you feel about an ice cream?" Lilliana asked.

"After a math test and a yelling from Miss Perchfords." Sarha grumbled "An ice cream sounds necessary."

Lilliana smiled at her friend's moodiness and began leading the way to the ice cream parlour.

On their way, seeing how grumpy Sarah was, she decided to take a shortcut in a little alley that led directly to the commercial centre.

The moment they stepped in, the air turned cold and the hairs on the girls' neck stood. A shiver ran through them.

"I think it was a bad idea to take a shortcut." Lilliana said "We should head back to the main street."

"I totally agree." Sarah replied shortly, turning around.

Lilliana imitated her, but before they could take a step forward, something jumped in their way. The two girls screamed.

The thing before them was hideous. There was no head, just a deformed, twisted body with several sharp teethed mouths scattered on his torso, the bigger one being on his belly. Two evil yellowish slitted eyes were nestled on the thing's torso, staring back at them.

Immediately the girls turned around to run with all their might, adrenalin and fear pumping in their veins.

Sarah tripped and Lilliana, as much frightened as she was, stopped to help her get up.

But unfortunately the thing had reached them by then and opened his mouth wide, letting them see several rows of shard glass like teeth. The girls screamed again, hugging each other but otherwise petrified on the spot.

But before the thing was able to take another step, little creatures landed on him, biting and scratching the monster to divert it from its original goal.

The thing fought them back, tearing them off before throwing them on the walls.

"Come on!" Sara exclaimed, regaining her senses and pulling Lilliana up.

The girl tried, but the thing grabbed her ankle roughly before she could straighten completely.

Lilliana screamed, in tears, shaking her ankle with all her might, the monster's pointed sharp nails sinking into the skin.

The thing was about to grab her neck with its other hand when the hugest dog Sarah ever saw in her life pounced ferociously on the thing attacking them, sharp glinting canines and red eyes glowing in the darkness of the alley.

It was Sarah's time to be speechless and Lilliana's to urge her friend to move.

Finally they made their way into the sunlight, into the chattering of the crowds and safety.

They leaned into the cold brick wall behind them, Lilliana clutching painfully her ankle.

"Let me see." Sarah asked, kneeling to pull up her friend's jeans.

Four claw marks were deeply imbedded in the ankle's skin, blood oozing lazily from them.

"Okay." Sarah decided "Let's get you to a pharmacy."

Lilliana nodded and passed her arm around Sarah's shoulders for support.

The apothecary seemed to buy their story of being attacked by a huge stray dog and cleaned Lilliana's foot before bandaging it.

As Sarah's home was nearer, they went here, the man gently lending them a crutch.

Karen panicked a bit when they explained what happened but as they were mostly unharmed, she let them rest in Sarah's room while she called Lilliana's mother.

Here they opened the book and searched.

"Here." Pointed Lilliana, showing a picture similar to the thing they escaped from.

They began to read.

_ACEPHALI_

_These creatures look exactly like humans except for one important detail: their faces are on their chests, because most of the Acephalis do not have heads. The Acephalis are said to have once been human, but they rebelled against the gods and to punish them the gods removed their heads. Those that managed to find their removed head carry it under their arm. They are said to live in Libya. There isn't anything concrete that can be done to ward off an Acephali except if you have an enchanted sword or a creature with more power than it._

Both girls looked at each other worriedly, each wondering silently what was going on.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sarah looked around, confused. How did she end up in this strange place?

Not that it wasn't breathtakingly beautiful. She felt the soft sand under her bare knees. Before her was an aquamarine Caribbean Sea, the sky as blue as the water. The horizon couldn't be properly deciphered.

She turned to see behind her the beginning of a forest made entirely of young pine trees and tall dry grass. Curiously the snow was falling only on this part of the place like cottons and the whole thing was bathed in golden light, contrasting with the blue atmosphere of the beach.

So different yet so complementary in a way.

"Sarah?" she heard someone call.

She turned to see Lilliana dressed in an aquamarine flowing dress. The train was flying free behind her at each step, projecting drops of mystical blue water. Her hairs were free, curling loosely to the end of her back.

"Lilliana?" she asked, a bit hesitant "What are you wearing?"

"The same thing as you." Her friend answered, smiling "But in a different colour."

Sarah blinked before looking down at herself. Indeed she was wearing the same type of dress, the train submerged in warm waters and of a gold so pale it looked white.

"That's strange." The girl mused out loud "I remember clearly falling asleep in my pyjamas in my bed."

"That makes two of us." Said Lilliana "I wonder where we are."

"You're in the realm between dreams and your very soul." Answered a voice.

They turned to see a woman standing a few feet away.

One of her eye was as black as a starless night while the other was of a light gold, almost yellow. Her thin, almost curly light brown hairs were flying softly around her chin. She was wearing a beige dress of the same type as the two girls and behind her was a scene of rocky high mountains encasing with a high, thin waterfall surrounded by a few green bushes.

They should have been wary, after escaping a Dullahan and an Acephali out probably for their blood and lives, but somehow they knew that the woman was a friend and a great help. It was as if they were connected almost the same the two girls felt connected to each other.

"Who are you?" Lilliana asked curiously "You seem… familiar."

"My name is Gloria." The woman smiled, appearing in her late thirties, her corners of her lips revealing crow feet "And even though we never met before, we're connected in more ways than one."

She chuckled at the disbelieving air on the girls' faces before adding:

"All we'll be explained in due time, but until that you'll have to walk through many adventures and learn. Actually I'm here to help you take a step forward."

"If by adventure you mean getting pursued by horrors such as the ones we saw." Sarah frowned "I'd rather return to my old boring life." Gloria said gently "There will be moments of happiness and light too. Don't desperate."

"Alright." Lilliana said slowly "But I don't see where you fit in still."

The woman smiled before sitting comfortably on the white sand. The two girls imitated her.

"First of all, a piece of advice." She began, eyeing the two "Reveal yourselves to each other. In what awaits you, you'll need to trust each other to the death."

Sensing the grave seriousness in Gloria's voice, the two nodded wordlessly, planning on how they would do it once they woke up.

"Good." Gloria said, satisfied "Now, I'll talk a bit about the Goblin and Fairy kingdoms."

Lilliana and Sarah blinked and looked at each other in wonder.

"Learn to be patient my dears." Gloria admonished gently, sensing their confusion.

The girls blushed in embarrassment and stayed put.

"I hope you have a vague knowledge of the faes being divided into two courts? The Seelie and Unseelie courts?" Gloria asked. When the two girls nodded again, she smiled before continuing:

"Against many beliefs, the Unseelie court wasn't evil, and the Seelie one wasn't good. The difference was made mainly because the Seelie court inhabited the Aboveground and the Unseelie court lived in the Underground."

The woman stopped a moment to let them digest the informations before continuing:

"Unfortunately the Seelie court was destroyed during a war against foes. The balance between the Aboveground and Underground wavered and a dark rift was created between the two worlds in a desperate attempt to keep them from collapsing. It worked until now. All were despairing until the angels, who lived highest than the highest peak in the Aboveground offered a prophecy."

"What was it?" Lilliana asked.

"When darkness threatens to overthrow the balance of powers again, the deer and the bear shall rise. Helped by the eagle, they will protect the leopard and the parrot until they're ready to take on the throne of the Seelie court, restoring powers and unity." Gloria recited.

The girls blinked, not knowing how to interpret those words.

"This is only one part of the prophecy" Gloria added "Here is another: having already wandered once on the Underground territory, the deer and the bear will have connected themselves to one country each, the ones that suffered the most from the rift, to return them to their former glory.

A child taken away, driven by courage, integrity and compassion to win back what the bear accidentally threw away and come out grown and with new wisdom

Brought to move the fates and begin the prophecy, the deer will use imagination, intuition and an emphatic heart to win over the gift of the gods and knew knowledges of herself."

Gloria finished, and there was a long silence before Lilliana spoke.

"Why have I the intuition that this wasn't all about the prophecy?" She said.

"Indeed my dear." Gloria smiled "The prophecy is long and greatly detailed. A true gift of the angels, yet ultimately a curse."

Seeing the girls' confused looks, Gloria explained further:

"As the prophecy is so detailed, many searched for those countries in question. And soon they found them. I believe you know what they are."

"Th-The Goblin kingdom?" Sarah asked, bewildered.

"And the Fairy kingdom." Lilliana finished, her tone unsure.

"Exactly." Gloria beamed "And war was declared."

"War?" Sarah exclaimed "Why?"

"You underestimate the power that come with having ties with both the Seelie and Unseelie courts. The bear and the deer are extremely powerful and equally rare personifications, as well as the eagle. As part of the new Seelie court and tied to the Goblin and Fairy countries, the kings ruling these two kingdoms would have a power far greater than their peers."

"What happened next?" Lilliana asked.

"The war totally destroyed the two kingdoms and the repercussions were serious and extremely grave. You see, as Fae can barely have one child for each couple, the Goblin king's role is extremely important. He takes away unwanted children that are placed into adopting families and become fae. But before being placed in a family, the baby is brought to the Fairy kingdom where the entity inhabiting it decided of its fate. It also point out soul mates, something essential in Fae customs. The two entities in each country unfortunately decided to hide their respective kingdoms from foes and made them disappear completely. No children, no soul mate. The underground was thrown into chaos."

"And what happened next?" Lilliana asked avidly.

"That's for another dream dear." Gloria said "You're waking up."

And with that say the girls had no time to ask anything else as their alarm clock rang, indicating seven o'clock.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"it's obvious." Lilliana said as they walked to their lockers "We are the deer and the bear."

"How can you be so sure?" Sarah asked dubitatively.

"You went to the Goblin kingdom while I went to the fairy kingdom."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, opening her locker to put in some books

"Absolutely." Lilliana replied, her tone making Sarah sure there were no options for discussion "And don't you get the feeling that you don't belong here? When you try to see your dreams for the future, are you seeing something in the mortal realm of Aboveground?"

"You're right." Sarah sighed "But how are you so sure that I travelled to the Goblin kingdom?"

"Well, when we were attacked by the Acephali, the creatures that attacked it to rescue us were Goblins, no?"

Sarah blinked, surprised. But before she could add anything else, all the lights of the building went out.

"The students are asked to calmly reach the nearest exit if you please." A voice asked through the microphones.

"Let's go." Sarah said, closing her locker and walking in the dark with her friend, groping here and there to reach the exit.

"This is strange." The girl mused out loud after a while "The exit isn't that far."

"And the atmosphere is strangely dark." Lilliana added worriedly "Shouldn't it be a bit lighter with the sun outside?"

The two girls looked worriedly at each other, barely discerning each other's faces in the pitch black darkness.

Suddenly a fickle of light shone above them. The looked up, thinking it was an exit signal or something like that. But instead they saw an insect.

"Firefly." Lilliana stated "Why is it here?"

"This is strange." Sarah shuddered "Let's get out of here."

But before she could take another step, someone shoved her violently against the wall of lockers beside her.

"Sarah!" Lilliana exclaimed, kneeling near her.

"I'm okay." Her friend reassured despite the pain she felt at the back of her head "We have to get out."

Lilliana nodded, fear in her eyes, and helped Sarah to stand up.

But before they could take another step, someone tripped Lilliana.

She fell with a cry, and they heard vicious, hissing laughter echoing in the corridor.

Something grabbed Lilliana's ankle and pulled.

The girl cried in pain and fright, the ankle being the one the Acephali wounded and not completely healed.

Fortunately Sarah reacted quickly. She threw her bag to the general direction of the enemy and heard a hiss of pain before grabbing Lilliana's hand.

"Quick!" She said, hurrying her friend to her feet before running to an empty classroom.

They locked hastily the door and stepped back, hoping that it would stop the thing after them.

Lilliana reached the teacher's desk and found a huge folder. She took it, feeling totally silly to think that a plastic thing would stop an enemy like that. But having something to defend herself with made her feel a bit better.

While Sarah was busy fixing the door, she noticed at the corner of her eyes a firefly.

Narrowing her eyes, she saw it flying along the wall to Sarah, unnoticed by her friend.

Following an impulse, she quickly slammed the folder on the insect, taking it by surprise.

They heard an horrible screech and the lights went on again.

The two girls sprawled unceremoniously on the floor, exhausted mentally and physically.

"I don't think I can take any more stress like that for long." Lilliana panted.

"Me too." Sarah added "We have to do something. If not one of those things will get to us someday. We can't be on our guard all days, all weeks and all months."

Lilliana nodded, finding nothing concrete to say back.

When school was dismissed for the day, they made their way back to Lilliana's apartment where the book was.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

**VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE!**

**I want to warn my readers that next week I'll be gone, and will only return the last week of august.**

**So sorry, but I won't be able to post another chapter until the end of august.**

**For anyone who might be curious, the song's lyrics in the chapter correspond to 'Désenchantée' by Mylène Farmer, a French singer.**

**I wish you all good holidays, and don't hesitate to review!**

Preview

_While Sarah was busy fixing the door, she noticed at the corner of her eyes a firefly._

_Narrowing her eyes, she saw it flying along the wall to Sarah, unnoticed by her friend._

_Following an impulse, she quickly slammed the folder on the insect, taking it by surprise._

_They heard an horrible screech and the light were on again._

_The two girls sprawled unceremoniously on the floor, exhausted mentally and physically._

"_I don't think I'll take any more of stress like that for long." Lilliana panted._

"_Me too." Sarah added "We have to do something. If not one of those thing will get to us someday. We can't be on our guard all day, all week and all month."_

_Lilliana nodded, finding nothing concrete to say back._

_When school was dismissed for the day, they made their way back to Lilliana's apartment where the book was._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Here." Lilliana said, pointing to a page where a firefly was drawn on.

They read.

_ADZE_

_The __Adze__ is a type of vampire creature who turns itself into a __firefly__ or other insect to feed before returning to its human form. They can transform themselves into any number of common insects which are seemingly harmless, and very difficult to capture.  
The __Adze__ has a taste only for the __blood__ of the innocent. They are hunters of children, and only children, and they especially like to feed on infants. They can also feed on palm oil and coconut water, and often will raid a village's entire supply of these, but they become dangerously weak if they do not feed on the blood of children. An __Adze__ can sustain itself without needing to kill any child. It can take enough blood to survive. However, if the __Adze__ is deterred or thwarted from feeding for a long enough period of time, it will go on a ravenous frenzy for blood. Often when the vampire reaches this stage of hunger, even the victims who survive become infected with a deadly disease which eventually kills them.  
The __Adze__ can also have the power to possess a human and become a living vampire, acting within the shadows and unseen unless wanted. When the __Adze__ is captured, it will revert to its human form. A human sorcerer can also willingly become possessed by an __Adze__ spirit for the abilities and powers they will gain. As an __Adze__ host, they are able to change their form, like a __shape shifter__, from human to something else by magic. When they are captured, however, the magic will be lost and they will revert back to their human form. This is the only way to fight the __Adze__, but catching them is the trick.  
There is no way to protect yourself against an __Adze__. Nothing will keep them out, or keep a child safe from its attacks. The only measure that can be taken against them is killing them while in their insect form. The safest thing to do is keep your supply of coconut water and palm oil up and set a trap._

"What are we gonna do." Sarah whined desperately, burrowing her head within her folded arms.

"We have to think logically." Lilliana supplied, trying to stay calm and fighting the urge to hide in a corner to weep "First, we have to do as Gloria told us in the dream. Then we will try to put up a plan according to the situation and what we have in our hands."

"Ah yes. The dream." Sarah remembered, that particular piece of information completely gone from her mind since the third attack "We have to 'tell the truth to each other'."

"Sleepover." Lilliana proposed, trying to lighten the mood "I'll bring a chocolate cake this time. I haven't made one in a while."

It worked somewhat and Sarah smiled weakly before agreeing.

So on a Friday night, Sarah's father and stepmother being out again, the two girls tended quickly to Toby before putting him in his crib in the living room not far from them.

"Your cake is delicious." Sarah moaned in delight, taking a huge bite of the slice of cake "You're a prodigy in cooking."

"Nothing like that." Lilliana smiled amusedly "And I think I'll go first."

Sarah became serious again and asked:

"Why?"

"You'll see." The girl smiled mysteriously.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Fourteen years old Lilliana was quietly reading in her room when her mother barged in.

"Mom!" the girl exclaimed, irritated "How many times do I have to tell you to knock?"

"None of this with me young woman." Her mother snapped back "You've been bunked in your rooms all day and it's exceptionally sunny outside. I want you to go out and enjoy the weather."

"But mom!" The brown haired girl whined, slumping on her bed in protest.

"You have five minutes to get ready." Her mother threatened "Or I'll throw you out myself."

She closed the door and Lilliana snorted before poutingly preparing her bag.

She tried to slip a book in, but her mother inspected it before she went out and 'tutted' before confiscating it.

So under the mocking laughter of her brother and the authoritarian glare of her mother, Lilliana passed the entry door.

She soon was at the park and searched the most secluded place to settle down. She knew inside that her mother only wanted was for her to find friends, but her childish stubbornness won and she would be damned if she let her mother win this one.

So she sat on the grass, arms circling her knees, and dully looked at the bush in front of her.

After ten whole minutes of bush staring, she sighed. That was so boring!

She searched for something to do when the urge to sing hit her.

Her mother had never understood when she tried to explain the deep want that surfaced sometimes, pushing her to open her mouth and sing. Her brother had told her multiple times to 'shut her trap' and to 'stop screeching like a banshee'. She had stopped.

But now she was alone. She looked carefully around, but no one was near. She could sing without disturbing anyone's peace.

So she began, the song's lyrics popping magically in her head:

"_Nager dans les eaux troubles, des lendemains, attendre ici la fin… »_

Every word was heartfelt, and she twirled a bit, her imagination weaving a vision in her head.

"…_Si je dois tomber de haut, que ma chute soit lente… »_

Her body, acting on its own record, began accompanying her voice, movement increasing the images of the song.

"_Je cherche une âme, qui pourra m'aider. Je suis d'une génération désenchantée… »_

It didn't matter that the words were in French, she still finished it, singing every word rightly even if she never learned any foreign language in her life.

The song ended. She stopped dancing and sighed, boredom settling once more.

She was a bit startled when she heard a rustling sound in the bushes. But she though it was only a squirrel or a bird. She paid it no mind.

Until the creature behind it came into the clearing.

It was a dog, that was for sure. But it was no normal dog, that was also for sure.

It was as huge as a horse, deep green furnished and shaggy fur covering its frame. Its tail was almost as long as its body, swishing lazily behind the beast as two glowing golden eyes stared at her.

She should have been afraid, should have screamed and fled. But come as she might she couldn't feel the tiniest bit of worry when she gazed into the relaxed, slightly curious gaze of the beast.

Drawn by some unknown forces that perhaps wanted her dead, she took a step forward. When the dog made no movement to attack her, she took another. When she was near enough she reached for it with her hand, stopping a few millimetres from the dog's muzzle.

It looked at her hand briefly before slowly apposing its nose on Lilliana's hand with the slightest of pressure.

Lilliana couldn't help it. She grinned, perhaps a bit stupidly. She began to tentatively stroke the dog's head. When it closed its eyes in delight, she even laughed a little.

Several hours later, one could find the fourteen years old girl playing with a gigantic green dog. She was throwing thick branches as far as she could and he would retrieve it, his steps as light and silent as a feather and his bark as loud as thunder. Other people would have screamed in fright and flee at the sound. The girl only laughed and hugged it around its neck to scratch a spot behind its ear, much to the obvious delight of the dog.

When it was time for Lilliana to go, the dog whined a bit but seemed to understand when she explained she would return tomorrow.

The morning after Lilliana had gone to the park as quickly as possible, even surprising her mother when she woke up extra early on a weekend day and asked a picnic.

Fortunately the woman didn't question her further when she said she had a date with a friend at the park, simply happy for her daughter.

All day Lilliana and the dog played together. The girl was happily surprised when it perfectly fitted the roles she had chosen for it in their many imaginary adventures. It stayed at her side when it was a loyal comrade, growling when an invisible troll tried to attack them, would jump on her and lick thoroughly her face when it was the dragon she had to slay and even let her mount on its back once, much to the delight of the girl.

Even when she had to go back to school, when the school bus stopped in front of her house after classes, she would bolt in her home and rush out as quickly, not even giving time to her brother for some sneaky crude remarks.

Each afternoon it was there. The dog would stay put, lying down and letting her use its body as a pillow as she did her homework before they could play again.

Their routine didn't change until one day, a Friday, when Lilliana came running to their usual spot to not find the dog there.

"Where are you?" she called, not knowing if it had a name, or even if it was a male or female.

She heard a familiar bark, far away from her to the left and began running to it.

The bushes quickly became denser, the trees taller, almost blocking the sun.

She stopped to regain her breath after a particularly dense bush and listened. But she heard nothing.

"Where are you!" she called again and another bark blasted to her right.

She continued her search, this time walking slower as she didn't want to trip on the many roots littering the forest's floor. She was happy when she saw a big light in front of her, indicating the end of the forest.

She made a run for it and stopped abruptly when she saw a large valley under her feet, another forest nestled in the centre with some mountains in the background. With the blue sky above her head, the scenery was beautiful. But she couldn't fully appreciate it as she didn't know where she was.

She heard a whine to her left and turned to find the dog.

"Ah! There you are!" she exclaimed, a bit irritated "Do you find it amusing to make me chase you around lie that?"

It whined again, nuzzling its head under her arm. She couldn't stay angry very long and giggled before caressing the dog's head, much to the delight of the canine.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked after a while.

The dog woofed before walking down into the valley. She had no option but to follow.

They travelled slowly to the forest she saw earlier without any incident.

They were nearing it when they heard an angry screech.

Lilliana hide behind a high rock, just before the dirt path they were following made a sharp turn to the right and motioned to the dog to hide too. It complied and she discreetly peeked.

Four men on horses were dragging a black goat on the ground behind them roughly, laughing cruelly at the animal's attempt to free itself. They had horns sprouting randomly out of their body and gleaming, cruel black eyes.

'Horrible.' Lilliana though indignantly.

But she hesitated. There were four, probably stronger men and she was alone.

She heard a discreet ruff and turned to find the dog, looking at her with determination in its eyes.

Her heart suddenly filled with courage. Yes, she wasn't alone. Together they would fight.

So she took a branch from the road and rounded the rock.

"Hey you four!" she exclaimed, brandishing her makeshift (and, she had to admit, ridiculous) weapon "Leave this animal alone."

"Animal!" The goat screeched angrily "I'm not a mere animal you foolish girl!"

Lilliana faltered a bit but had no time to answer as the four men let out snickers and laugh.

"Look at whot came to rescue you Pooka." One of them sneered "A tiny child. Is she your mate?"

They didn't see the dog coming behind her until it let out a thunder like bark, almost deafening her on the spot.

But it did its work and all the horses neighed in fright, throwing off their rider before galloping frantically away.

The four men looked briefly at the still growling green dog behind her before letting out high pitched squeals. They crawled up before straightening and running away with all their might.

Lilliana couldn't help but let out a giggle. She also sensed the dog's amusement and turned to hug its furnished collar, almost disappearing within the thick shaggy fur.

"Thank you for being here." She whispered.

The dog let out a low, soft rumbling that shook his torso, but the peaceful moment was broken when the goat called to them:

"Hey! Are you going to help me or not stupid!"

"Oh! Sorry." Lilliana apologised sheepishly, walking to the goat to help him out of the net he was in.

When he was out, she could finally see that the animal had a deep furnished black fur with thick, twisted horns sprouting out of his head. It had almost the same golden eyes as the dog, though they were a bit more yellowish.

"Are you okay?" Lilliana asked

"You ask me if I'm okay!" the goat cried indignantly "Of course not! First I have been abducted by demons due to a stupid tiny error and then you of all people rescue me!"

"Well excuse me for rescuing you." The brown haired girl huffed "Would you have preferred to stay in this net, being dragged on the floor?"

"You don't understand do you?" The goat sighed, looking at her like she was some kind of particularly stupid specimen "I have a life debt to you?"

"A life debt?" Lilliana asked, looking back at the dog who only threw her an amused gaze back.

The goat let out a snort before saying quickly:

"Very simple. You saved my life, so I have to stay with you until I save your life in return."

"Oh." The green eyed girl said slowly, before hastily replying "Oh no, you don't owe me anything! Just go back to whatever you were doing before they captured you."

The goat seemed surprising for a moment before bristling angrily.

"So you think I'm unworthy." He sneered, and before she could say anything, he added "Well, we'll see about that, where are you heading?"

"Err." Lilliana replied, not having fully recovered from the multiple mood swings the goat passed through "I don't really know. I'm just following it - she gestured to the dog- and I think we were heading to the forest at the centre of this valley."

The goat looked dumbstruck for a moment before saying:

"So you're following a Cu Sith toward the Forest of Destiny and you behave like you're on a stroll!"

He had begun low, but at the end of the phrase his voice had risen to the point he was screaming.

"Err, yes." Lilliana could only answer, unsure "What's a Cu Sith?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

**I'M ALIVE! Sorry about the late update. I just came back. Read and enjoy! =) Don't hesitate to review of course!**

It took at least five minutes time to calm down the goat who, after a moment of total speechlessness, began to furiously yell at her. Lilliana was only able to grasp the words 'foolish' and 'poor me'.

After the little outburst the animal took a deep breath before explaining, reciting his speech as if he was reading:

"The Cù Sìth, foolish little one, is an enormous, otherworldly hound, said to haunt the plains. The Cù Sìth is feared as a harbinger of death and appears to bear away the soul of a person to the afterlife or kidnaps young mothers. He hunts silently, but occasionally let out terrifying barks that could be heard for long distances. Do you see now stupid one what you're following?"

Lilliana looked at the dog, who let out a whine before nuzzling my neck.

She frowned before turning to the goat.

"This terrifying beast as you say was the first one to want to be my friend. I trust it and I'll swear this on my very life."

The statement was a bit bold, but she felt the warmth of being trusted and loved pouring from the dog's form, a soft rumble in its torso.

"Foolish girl." The goat sighed.

"You know what." Lilliana said defiantly, ignoring him "Since you're my friend you'll need a name. Do you have one?"

She didn't listen to the goat telling her she was stupid to speak to a beast. She felt a tingling at the back of her mind and a name was softly whispered.

"Cayden." She repeated before smiling "That's a beautiful one."

She turned back to the goat which was at that point openly surprised, its mouth hanging down in shock.

"Excuse me but." She said hesitantly "Err, what are you exactly?"

The goat blinked before puffing out its torso in pride.

"I." he said ceremoniously "Am a Pooka foolish one."

He raged again when Lilliana only blinked in complete blankness.

"I am a great spirit of nature foolish girl." He sermonized "Respected and feared as I can do both bad and good things. I am a well of knowledge deeper than any human can dream of and I am to boot an excellent shapeshifter."

"Incredible." Lilliana said, biting back a laugh as the pooka seemed to literally glow with pride "Do you have a name?"

She heard the goat grumble about stupid humans with needs of names before he said in a condescending tone:

"You may call me Dubh."

"Okay." She said, getting up "Let's go."

Dubh screeched again but followed her, his hooves raising clouds of dirt on the path.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The reception room of the Fairy Castle was filled with several males and females of different species, talking quietly among groups and laughing, a flute of champagne in hand.

Among them stood a man in his mid-forties. He was rather handsome, but that wasn't a reference because every fae had a sort of bewitching beauty unique to them. He was amiably talking to a giggling tree nymph, his eyes sparkling with mischief and something darker, much to the delight of the woman.

He was about to speak again when a short man came to him and whispered something in his ears.

"I am afraid I have to leave your side my dear." He said sadly before letting a painful sigh "Such thing rip my heart apart, but I have to do my duty. Go and enjoy yourself."

"Well, duty calls." The nymph sighed mournfully "But should you need some company this evening, you know where my rooms are."

"Of course my dear." He smirked before kissing her backhand and swirl around to walk regally away.

Once the reception door passed, his face turned somber and serious. He sneered. Those pathetic demons weren't even capable of the simplest jobs. Capturing a Pooka was easy, considering these creatures had the hugest ego in the Underworld except for a few Fae he knew (he sneered again at that though).

They would have to be punished. But if their wild tale of a girl controlling a Cu Sith that his servant whispered in his ear ealier was true, then perhaps he wouldn't kill them.

Yet.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So this is the Forest of Destiny?" Lilliana wondered curiously "Why is it called like that?"

"There is a legend about this place." Dubh replied "Let's get moving, I'll tell you on the way."

They walked a bit before the goat spoke again:

"When the underground was a few hours young, two sisters inhabited the land. Ndan was the oldest and had rebel dark hairs flying everywhere. Eagna was the youngest and her blond hairs where always tied up in braids, flowers sometimes woven in. They were living happily, roaming the fields in search of adventure until dark species wanting to enter the Underground to possess its young rich lands came. The once greens became black and frosted, and the clear water evaporated away, hiding the sun behind dark grey clouds.

Devastated, the two sisters went to their mother Ghrian, the sun goddess, and pleaded her to help drive the monsters away.

But unfortuanetly their mother couldn't do much as she wasn't able to step out of the sky until the stars fell down as the law indicated.

Desperate, the sisters decided that they were the only ones who could help young Underground.

So, armed with faith and courage they fought their way to the open passage allowing entrance to the dark creatures.

There they started to call forth all their magic to transform. Ndan's hairs became numerous trees, forming a natural barrier. Eagna's hairs stretched and became walls which twisted and turned.

From that point each creature that wished to enter Underground had to go through the Labyrinth to prove their wisdom or at least to learn to be wise enough to understand the fragile nature of a new world. Then they had to reach the center of the Forest of Destiny where they would be shown where to live, how and with who."

"That's incredible Dubh." Lilliana said in awe "You're such a great story teller."

The goat puffed his chest in pride once again and Lilliana smiled at her new friend's antic when they passed something's familiar.

"Hey!" The girl remarked "Isn't that the huge pine tree we passed earlier?"

"You must be delusional girl." Dubh snorted "We have moved straight forward from the beginning. We cannot have walked in round."

"Perhaps." The brown haired girl mused out loud "But I'm also sure this tree is the one I leaned on to take a short pause."

Cayden took a step forward to sniff and let out a grunt of agreement.

"See." Lilliana said triumphantly.

"Then this is far worse than I imagined." Dubh grumbled.

"Why?"

"Foolish girl, that's mean the forest is trying to make us lost, probably to eat us once we're tired enough."

Lilliana gulped audibly and looked around. She never sensed anything dangerous or malevolent about this forest. Even the wildlife seemed not dangerous at all, consisting of squirrels and rabbits. But if Dubh said so then he must be at least part right.

"Well?" she asked "What do you propose we do?"

When nobody answered her, she turned to see that Dubh had disappeared.

"Dubh?" she called, turning the other way "Cayden?"

But the green dog was also gone. Lilliana looked carefully around, but nothing, not even birds or wind.

Fear crept to her like a cold mist and she shuddered before forcing herself to walk on, calling from time to time her friend's names.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

He had been deep in work when he felt the rush of power coming from the Forest of Destiny.

It had been so long since the magical entity had sprung to life in such manner, he had to investigate.

So he produced a round onyx gem and he was soon enveloped within a deep smoke, disappearing in an instant.

He appeared just outside the Forest and stepped in.

Immediately a force drew him back, pushing him to the edge of the trees.

"I am your king and I order you to let me enter." He growled. Yet the force refused to let him enter.

He forced himself to calm down and began thinking. He knew that the Forest wouldn't so blatantly refuse his order. There had to be a reason to keep him outside.

He searched for possibilities, but only one stayed in his mind.

But it wasn't possible, was it?

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

After walking around aimlessly, calling out her friends, she had begun running, becoming jumpy and slightly paranoiac as whispers of voices made their way to her. Mist had begun coiling around her feet.

The space around her became blank and shroud, and tears made their way to her eyes.

She stopped under a tree, exhausted, and curled against the bark, tears still silently making their way down.

'_Give up now.' _A voice whispered in her ears, a little wind lifting her hairs _'You'll get back to your family and never be troubled again.'_

She straightened, about to say yes. But at that moment her friends' faces popped into her mind.

Her fear and despair turned into anger and determination.

"How dare you tell me to go and give up when my friends are somewhere in this forest, lost." she called out at no one in particular, feeling a bit stupid but the gesture soothing and reaffirming "I will find them and we'll get out of this damn forest, together."

A strange warmth spread into her and the fog around her lifted, the forest bursting with life once again.

Determination in her heart, she began to walk again and reached a junction.

The road parted into two ways, a different plant sort of guarding each path, growing sideway.

Both were high, adorning white flowers with only slight differences.

They were both beautiful, but when Lilliana looked at the one with a big bud of star like flowers, she got a feeling of regret. The emotion haunted her as if a hand was squeezing her heart.

And when she looked at the plant holding elegant bell like flowers, she got a sense of urgency, like she needed to run to somewhere before something happened, something terrible.

She chewed on her lower lip, hesitating to trust her instinct. How could she choose upon a fleeting feeling after looking at some flowers?

But when she looked at the star flowers, she shivered again and decided that it was worth a try.

She began to scurry lightly down the path and soon heard harsh laughters.

She carefully hid behind a thick bush and peeked around it.

Her friends were there, crushed under a heavy net with ugly black little creatures surrounding them..

They were at least ten of them and Lilliana felt fear creep its way back in her heart. This time there would be no giant green dog protecting her, nor any grumbling goat to advise her.

But she couldn't let them suffer like that. A lone tear fell down her cheek as one enemy pricked Cayden with a spare, the dog letting out a painful whine. She grabbed a fallen branch with trembling hands and put a foot forward.

There she blocked, paralyzed with fear. How could she hope to win against ten stronger than her creatures?

She closed tightly her eyes to search some courage within but found none. She opened them again and looked at her friends, who were obviously suffering.

She felt ashamed and squared her shoulders, preparing herself to fight bitterly to give her friends a chance to free themselves.

She stepped out of the bush hiding her and called, getting the creatures' attention.

They jumped at her and she swung wildly her branch which hit nothing. She closed her eyes, waiting for retaliation.

When she felt none she opened her eyes again to see that everything had disappeared.

She felt furious, played and screamed to the surrounding trees:

"That's so unfair!"

And she was certain that, for a fleeting moment, she heard the forest laugh.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o::

He stayed near the edge of the forest, frowning and sometimes testing the barrier.

There had to be way to slip in to see who had dared enter the forest. He was the king dammit!

'_There is a way my king.' _Whispered in his mind the voice of the forest _'Only one.'_

He frowned deeper and searched. He searched for some times before the obvious yet ridiculous answer came to mind.

'Are you serious?' he asked mentally.

His only answer was a path opening to his right.

He hesitated. If he stepped in the forest, he would have to face challenges to prove his worth and he may not always triumph. An error and he would face dire consequences. Was he willing to risk everything just to satisfy his curiosity? He didn't even dare think what would happen if he indeed found her within the forest ground.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

Lilliana was in front of a dilemma.

In front of her were two different routes. One was beautifully lighted, several magnificent, opulent flowers growing like bright patches of colours.

The other one, however, was somber, grey clouds piling up in the sky. The trees were dark and devoid of any leaves, reaching to the sky like black bony hands.

A big part of her really wanted to take the illuminated path, but something in this road was bothering her. Perhaps the flowers were too bright, the caress of the sun too inviting, or perhaps it was the fact that apart from its color and warmth, this path seemed dead.

The other one looked exactly as dead, and cold. But the knot in Lilliana's stomach wasn't as big when she looked down that path.

She remembered the flowers, and then the illusion of her friends attacked.

'Nothing is what it appears to be here.' She though determinedly 'I have to follow my instinct.'

So she engaged herself onto the dark path, praying to herself to not have made the wrong choice.

But she didn't get attacked or anything while walking on the grey dirt path, just the trees and the silence that was becoming bothersome.

She sighed, bringing up an arm to rub her other one to bring in some warmth. After some time she got bored and so began humming.

Soon she let the song take a toll on her and her voice rang clear through the dead landscape:

"_Far, Far Above the Clouds Soaring with the Wind, a Falcon Flies Alone, Silent as the Sky…"_

She let her body dance, for a moment forgetting where she was, completely taken by her singing:

"…_We're Far from the Ones we Love, and Never Can Return. Never Can we See Again, the Countries of Our Birth…"_

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

"…_We're Far from the Ones we Love, and Never Can Return. Never Can we See Again, the Countries of Our Birth…"_

He stopped, listening to the voice. He felt a pull deep inside him, but resisted.

From the moment he stepped in the forest, the entity had thrown many obstacles, physical or emotional, to keep him off the right path. He was beginning to be exasperated with the numerous attempts.

So he turned and took the path opposite of the voice…

…and fell right into a hole.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o::

Lilliana finished her song, her body stopping dancing and warmed from the effort. When she opened her eyes, focusing them on the road again, she was surprised to see floating little white glowing balls of lights surrounding her. Some were giggling and some were whispering.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously. She was totally incapable of being afraid of white little giggling balls, though a little voice in her mind told her to stay on guard.

One of the balls floated to her and Lilliana extended her hands to it, letting it land on them.

The glow receded and at the ball's place stood a tiny girl with pure white hairs flowing behind her. Her eyes were icy blue and on her back were large transcludescent wings imitating half snowflakes.

"We're the winter fairies. My name is Alby" The being replied in a tiny voice "And who are you?"

"Well, I'm a human." Lilliana smiled "And my name is Lilliana."

At the mention of her species, the fairies around her let out shocked gasp before whispering furiously among themselves.

"You..You're sure you're human?" Alby asked, unsure.

"Why yes I'm sure." Lilliana assured, refraining a giggle.

"Then we must take her to Queen Aileen." Said a second fairy, materializing in her hands beside Alby. She had black hairs and eyes and her fairy wings were made of thin dark branches, different from Alby but nonetheless beautiful.

"I agree." Alby replied before turning to her "Can you follow us?"

"If you stay in my line of vision and go slowly, yes." Answered truthfully Lilliana "I'm a bit tired."

The two fairies nodded before transforming again into balls of light, showing her the way.

The travel was mostly silent, punctuated by the giggling of the fairies from time to time. Some of them sometime would bolt away before returning, laughing. Some of them began playing with her hair and she had to fight to keep them tied in a ponytail.

But overall she enjoyed the walk, feeling a sense of belonging surrounded by the fairies.

After ten minutes of walk she was beginning to get really tired when they finally reached a clearing.

Lilliana had to hold in a gasp when she looked around. Everything was covered in pure white snow, glinting sparkles of soft oranges and pinks shining under the setting sun. High stalactites and stalagmites were reflecting the golden rays, illuminating the clearing.

In front of her, covered in silver snow imitating leaves, two high black trees were forming an arch over a path covered in large silver stones.

"This way." Alby said, flying in front of her. Lilliana nodded wordlessly and followed, having trouble taking her eyes off the beautiful clearing.

They followed the path bordered by silver ice trees before coming in front of a huge set of doors carved in a dark wood and outlined with silver and diamonds.

Two snowmen were guarding the gate and pointed their spears at the sight of them.

"We're here to see the Queen." The dark haired fairies said "Let us pass."

The snowmen looked longly at them in disbelief before retrieving their weapons.

The doors opened slowly and the fairies led Lilliana through white and silver corridors to what appeared to be the throne room.

Here a woman _way_ taller than her was writing, sitting on a glinting silvery ice throne. Her hairs, black and long, were cascading down to her feet, jeweled snowflakes scattered in them. Her eyes were of a blue so pale they looked white, silver streaks outlining her pupils.

Her pale white skin was highlighted by a dark make up, making Lilliana's appear tanned in comparison.

"So?" The woman asked in a posed voice, turning to her at last "This is the human that wandered into the Forest of Destiny."

Feeling suddenly extremely self-conscious, Lilliana fidgeted a bit.

"Please your majesty." She said guiltily "I never intended to cause trouble entering this forest. If I did any damages I apologize deeply."

To her surprise the queen smiled gently.

"None of it child." She chided softly, getting up to walk to her.

"May I have your name?"

"Lilliana your majesty." The green eyed girl replied, attempting to curtsy.

The queen stifled a laugh at her clumsy attempt and said:

"You had to walk a long way to get here. You must be tired. Get some rest tonight, you're my guest."

"Come Lilliana." Alby said, tugging at a lock of her hair.

"Thank you your majesty." The girl said gratefully before following the little fairy.

She led her to a room as big as the tiny house she inhabited with her mother and brother. The theme being pale blue, everything was in tone with that color.

Alby staying to help her, she showered, glad to wash off the dirt she collected on her long way here before the fairy helped her into a long flowing white nightgown. Servants (apparently brownies as Alby explained) brought her dinner and she invited Alby to share it with her.

It was simple, yet delicious. As fairies were vegetarians, they ate broccoli soup with a strange yet delicious tea made of basil, fennel and peppermint. They then finished with a yummy clementine's cake accompanied by hot cocoa.

During dinner the two talked animatedly, Alby fascinated by Lilliana's adventures and Lilliana giggling as the little fairy actively shared rumors of all sort.

But when it was time to go to sleep, her mother's face came into mind as she slipped into her light blue fluffy covers and she felt terribly alone.

"Alby?" she asked, uncertain "Can you stay with me?"

"Why?" The fairy asked curiously.

"I…" The girl replied hesitantly, looking down in embarrassment "It's nothing. You better go sleep too, you look tired."

With that she blew the candle near her and burrowed herself in the covers.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

**And here is the sixth chapter. Read, enjoy and don't forget to review! **

"I'm sorry but I'll be of no help to find your friends." The winter fairy queen apologized at breakfast.

"But why?" Lilliana protested sadly, disappointed.

"Simply because they aren't within the winter fairies territory."

"Then how am I gonna find them?" The brown haired girl spoke more to herself than to others, becoming depressed and slightly desperate.

The queen put a hand on her forearm and smiled reassuringly.

"Let the forest guide you my child." She said softly "It will lead you to where you have to go."

The queen's words and her gentle smile reassured Lilliana for a while. But when she had changed back into her normal clothes, given some food and water and led back to the dark path, she felt her convictions waver again.

She said goodbyes to all the fairies until only Alby was left.

"Well." Lilliana said ruefully "I guess this is goodbye."

"Not obligatory." The fairy suddenly said "Please let me go with you."

Lilliana blinked and, uncertain, tried:

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't know how long it will take and eventually I'll have to return home. "

"I have been tested by the Queen herself." The little fairy said determinedly "She deemed me worthy and strong enough to accompany you on your journey. Please, let me go with you."

Lilliana felt her defenses collapse. She was just a fourteen years old girl walking alone on a dark path. She could use the company.

"Well." She said hesitantly "If you're so sure."

She felt her heart warm up once she saw Alby's radiant smile.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

He was beginning to tire. After crawling out of dark caverns he was filthy, cranky, thirsty and hungry. The Forest had deemed it funny to deprive him of his powers and he felt more alone than he ever felt since centuries.

He swore under his breath but continued nonetheless.

'_Do you wish to give up my king?'_ The voice of the Forest whispered temptingly in his mind.

A path opened to his left, inviting, but he growled and took a path opposite. No way he was going to abandon now. He had come too far for that.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

Lilliana was walking slowly in a little hedge maze, Alby resting on her shoulder.

They were traveling in peaceful silence until they heard laughs and music.

Alby's face split into a grin and she flew off, tugging at a lock of the girl's hair.

"Alby?" Lilliana asked amusedly "What's happening?"

"You'll see." The fairy smiled eagerly "Come, come."

The brown haired girl giggled and followed her friend to an end of the labyrinth.

She saw a vast plain where a vibrant green grass undulated under a soft shudder of wind. The sky was deep blue, punctuated here and there by white fluffy clouds.

In the plain, a large table was put, floundering with all kinds of fruits and drinks.

A crowd of people not too far away were mingling together, laughing and talking animatedly.

Lilliana could make out green and blue haired, slender men and women, strangely reminding her of trees and waterfalls. There were also different types of unicorns, from the pure slender white one everyone knew of to the little, tiny brown one Lilliana had no idea it existed. Multi-colored birds were talking among themselves up in the surrounding trees and Lilliana could see an old women comfortably sitting here and there, narrating stories to young green and blue haired children holding tiny colored young birds.

Some were dancing strange wild dances with what Lilliana could recognize as satyrs, smiling and laughing.

A feeling of euphoria swept by Lilliana's heart, mingled with the feeling of not belonging.

Already Alby was ahead of her, eager to mingle with the crowd.

She however stopped when she saw her friend still at the hedge doorway.

"Lilliana?" she asked curiously.

"Go on and have fun." The girl managed to smile with tight lips "I'll join you shortly."

The winter fairy smiled and flew away.

Lilliana's smile disappeared and she stayed here, looking enviously had the beautiful couples dancing in the herbs. She couldn't hope to rival their grace and beauty. She was only a clumsy human girl lost in this woods.

She curled against a bush tightly, drawing her knees into her arms. She let sadness spread in her heart and stayed for some time until a group of blue and green haired women gracefully skipped to her.

"Why are you so sad child?" A dark blue haired woman asked in a voice that reminded of a deep, powerful river.

"It's nothing." Lilliana tried meekly "It's just that I feel…inferior."

The women around her frowned before a flowery woman with silky pastel green hair took her hands.

"No one should be sad in an Earrach festival." She said.

"I'm sure a dance will lift your spirit." An aquamarine haired woman added.

Lilliana paled and was about to protest when an emerald haired woman noticed something.

"The girl can't dance in that." She frowned disapprovingly.

They observed critically Lilliana's jeans and large tee shirt. One of them waved her hand and the brown haired girl found herself in a flowing deep blue dress coming to her knees and baring her shoulders. She felt her hairs and noticed the tie keeping them together had disappeared. Instead they were flowing wildly around her oval shaped face, curling gracefully to the middle of her back, little flowers woven in them.

"You're wonderful in that." One of the women marveled "Now let us dance."

Before Lilliana could voice out her fears, they had dragged her to the center of the dance's circle. The girl let out a paralyzed squeak and barely noticed she was barefoot on the surprisingly smooth grass as the women began dancing around her.

First she stayed frozen, not knowing what to do. But then she was forcefully swept in the dance by a satyr and was little choice but to follow his lead. Then little by little she relaxed, and after ten painful anxious minutes she began laughing with everyone, her steps now as light and graceful as her fellow dancers.

She was really enjoying herself…until she tripped over her own feet and fell.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

He had tiredly stumbled on an Earrach festival celebrating spring. He smiled, remembering when this jovial feast was held in his own town. It was then that his castle and city could reveal all of its beauty.

Even though this one was far simpler, it held a certain charm of family and calm friendship that his feast lacked sometimes, overloaded by too much magnificence.

He had settled down to rest a bit, peacefully looking at the nymphs of trees and rivers laughing together. Some Adars were conversing politely and some Äbädäs were narrating stories to the young ones.

He was beginning to fall asleep when something perturbed the ring of dancers.

Someone tripped.

He frowned. No nature spirit could trip. They were naturally graceful. And this one had dark brown hair. She couldn't be a forest spirit or inhabitant.

He felt the same pull from earlier and a though struck him.

Was it her?

He observed her more closely as she teared up. She straightened and didn't dare to look up, fearful.

He couldn't believe it. That was all? But she was so young, so fragile.

So weak.

His mood darkened at that though. He couldn't allow someone like her hinder him.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o::

Lilliana stayed put for what she though felt like forever until an old woman took her hands in hers.

"Come on child." She said gently, tugging her out of the dancers' circle.

Lilliana dried her silent tears and followed the woman to a corner of the feast.

"I'm sorry." She said instinctively "I didn't want to spoil your feast."

"You aren't responsible child." The elderly smiled gently, waving her hand and magically changing her clothes back "Nymphs are naturally more graceful than you could ever hope to. But before you tripped I had to admit that you were really close to them."

Lilliana blushed.

"Perhaps but I still fell. I'm such a klutz." She mumbled pitifully.

The old woman sighed and knelt to the distraught girl.

"Are you going to fall down at each slight difficulty?" she chided gently.

Lilliana shot her an incredulous look before replying quickly:

"No, of course not!"

"Then." The old woman continued logically "Are you going to mope around because you just tripped ?"

"No." The girl sighed after a moment of silence "No, you're totally right."

"Good." The elderly smiled, straightening "Now you have a quest to accomplish I think."

"You're right!" Lilliana exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she was here in this forest "I almost forgot."

"Do not let things stray you from your path." The old woman said in a last piece of wisdom before pointing the entry of a cavern "Go in there and soon you'll reach your goal."

"Thank you." Lilliana said shortly before searching for Alby, at the same time mentally berating herself for her moment of stupid weakness.

"Lilliana." The winter fairy exclaimed excitedly once they reached each other "You were so incredible while dancing! Well, until you tripped though but nobody was able to follow the nymphs until now!"

"Thank you." Lilliana smiled "Now let's go."

"Alright!" The fairy agreed, flying after her.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

He tried to reach to her, but he lost her in the crowd of magical beings.

He swore under his breath when he saw an Äbädär near him.

"She isn't here anymore my king." The old nature spirit told him, bowing a bit in front of him.

"Then tell me where she went." He ordered. He was very displeased with her answer.

"To somewhere you cannot follow her. To reach her you must follow your own path. And judging by your current attitude it will be long before you can fully understand what type of gem in the making you can have."

He glowered at the old woman before leaving, decidedly not liking the spirit's answers none a bit.

::0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0::

"It's so dark in here." Lilliana remarked out loud before hitting her feet on a rock "Ouch!"

"Let me help." Ably said.

She flew a few inches above the girl's head and began glowing. The white light spread a few feet around them.

"Thank you." Lilliana said, relived "That's incredibly helpful."

In silence they made their way through the rocky tunnels. But quickly they got lost.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Lilliana asked her friend pointlessly.

"Nope." Alby answered "And you?"

The green eyed girl shooked her head and took a step forward.

She fell right through a hole.

Screaming, she slided for a few seconds before landing roughly on furs.

"Lilliana!" Alby screamed, flying down to her "Are you alright?"

"My bum is sore but." The girl winced, getting up slowly "I'm alright, nothing's broken."

"That's a relief." The winter fairy sighed in relief "Come on, let's go. I'll light up the room as much as I can."

She flew up and used her powers to light up the place they were in.

Unfortunately there were only in a huge cavern with an equally huge statue standing in the middle.

The woman statue had flowing hair curling around her hips with a slender and tall body. The man behind her had an arm circling her petite waist in a loving, possessing gesture. Lilliana could see clearly the love frozen on his stone face, his long straight hairs tied in a high ponytail and an armor clothing his body.

On the two statues' pedestal, words were engraved in the rock.

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills.

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter." Lilliana read out loud

"That's weird." Alby said after a while.

"Indeed. But I'm sure it's here to help us."

They pondered for a long time until Lilliana's head began to hurt.

Finally she let out a big sigh of defeat and slumped against the furs she landed on earlier.

"It's hopeless." She moaned, massaging the headache blooming in her head "I was never good at riddle to begin with."

"Let's eat a bit." Alby proposed.

Lilliana nodded and they ate some of the dried fruits the winter fairy queen had given them.

They were drinking water when Lilliana sprang to her feet.

"I know!" She exclaimed excitedly, almost jumping up and down in excitement.

"What?" Alby asked, almost spitting out her water in surprise.

"The answer! I know the answer!"

"The answer to what?"

"But the riddle of course!" Lilliana huffed exasperatedly before moving to the statues "It cannot be heard or smelt, hides behind stars and hills and fills empty holes! It's darkness!"

Alby stood open mouthed for a moment before springing off her place, flying around Lilliana's head in happiness.

"Of course, this is it!" she exclaimed "It's so obvious! But what should we do with this information?"

Lilliana thought for a moment before an idea popped up in her mind.

"Alby." She asked "Can you turn off your light?"

"Why, yes." The winter fairy answered uncertainly "But we'll not…"

She stopped and considered her words.

"But of course!" she exclaimed happily "It's glaringly obvious! Just a minute."

She landed and sat on Lilliana's shoulder. Seconds after her light died down and they found themselves in the oppressing darkness.

Lilliana felt crushed. Her breath hitched as her vivid imagination showed her numerous monsters that nurtured her anxious thoughts.

Usually the girl had difficulties to handle the dark, and this one let absolutely no light through. She felt the need to whimper and curl into a ball.

Minutes passed thickly, and Lilliana was about to hurriedly ask Alby to light up things again when something wonderful happened.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, it's painful to write this, but I am quite fed up.

Since I began posting the chapters of this story, I have been assaulted with reviews basically telling me I don't know how to properly write a story.

I haven't started writing fanfictions to be harassed like that, especially by people who just insult me without explaining why like petty five years old.

And, even if it's physically painful, receiving so much complains means that there is something wrong with this story, even if it was exaggerated.

So I am sorry to announce that I will stop this story. I want to apologize to anyone who are following and enjoying this story. I didn't want to come to this extreme but I refuse to continue posting chapters and receiving insults.

Now, not every reviews were bad and I thank people who reviewed to me. And for Yautja321, in case he or she read this note, this is a story about Sarah, yes, but also about Lilliana, my OC.

And my character couldn't appear like that in the story, I needed to explain the how and the why. I have to admit that the beginning does focus more on her than Sarah, but if you were searching for a fanfic evolving around Sarah exclusively, I'm afraid this story isn't for you.

Again I am sorry for the people who have been enjoying my story.

Petitefeeme.


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